At time of post Nikkei 225 was down 221.82: Related Quotes ^N225 18968.11 -221.82

delayed 20 mins - disclaimer

Tuesday March 14, 12:56 am Eastern Time

(Note: this article is ``in progress''; there will likely be an update soon.)

Nikkei below 19,000 on losses in old Japan shares

TOKYO, March 14 (Reuters) - Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei average fell below the key 19,000 point level in mid-afternoon on Tuesday, weighed down by shift in investor money out of ``old Japan'' sectors such as banks, shipbuilding and rubber.

At 0534 GMT, the benchmark Nikkei average of 225 leading shares was down 206.83 points or 1.08 percent at 18,983.10.

The Nikkei breached the 19,000 line for the first time since January 27.

However, the capital-weighted TOPIX index (^TOPX - news) of all shares listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 9.46 points or 0.61 percent at 1,567.66, as investors put their money back into core high-tech stocks such as NTT Docomo , which is not a Nikkei component.

NTT Docomo rose 470,000 yen or 13.86 percent to 3.86 million yen. Another high-tech weather vane Sony Corp gained 850 yen or 3.5 percent to 25,150, recovering from recent sharp declines.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/000314/ba.html

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), March 14, 2000